Spoiler alert: Do not read unless you have seen the season finale of “Westworld”
To the very end, “Westworld” proved to be one of the most dense TV tales in recent memory. It is a show that dove into science, philosophy and high-brow art to present concepts that built on top of each other. And in the end, the concept that mattered most was perhaps its most complex one: the theory of the bicameral mind.
Early in the series, Dr. Ford explains that the bicameral mind is the concept that prehistoric man viewed their own conscience as the voice of gods speaking to them. This idea was first envisioned in the 1970s by psychologist Julian Jaynes. He proposed that human consciousness is divided into two parts. The first part is based in memories and gives commands to the second part, which listens and acts accordingly. Because these two parts act independently, the mind can’t reflect on why it is acting the way it is, and is therefore just short of full sentience.
Dolores’ entire journey has been about her trying to discover the true reason why she is perceiving the world differently than she used to. In the final moments of this season, she finally reaches that moment of discovery in an epiphany that brings the bicameral mind concept to life.
Up to this point, we’ve been led to believe that Dolores has secretly been guided by the voice of her creator, Arnold, who planned out a route to her sentience that would play out after his death. Instead, it turns out that the person who had been guiding her journey was herself, or to be more precise, the alter-ego of Wyatt that had been lying dormant in Dolores while she behaved according to the loops and innocent personality that the park had programmed for her.
When Dolores saw the visions of Arnold guiding her, it represented her viewing her inner thoughts through the bicameral mind. The memories and inner voice that dictated her actions were seen by her to be the voice of someone else. When she realizes that the voice guiding her decisions was her own, she finally gains full autonomy and achieves Arnold’s dream: full consciousness.
And as we’ve seen all season, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy connect this science-based theme to art. Just before Dolores achieves consciousness, Ford points out a famous interpretation of Michelangelo’s famous Sistine Chapel painting of God creating man. The pink shroud surrounding God as he reaches out to Adam is in a shape very similar to the human brain.
Ford explains that Michelangelo was saying that our inner thoughts do not come from gods — as the bicameral mind of prehistoric man may have thought — but from ourselves. In the same way, Dolores thought she was being guided by the voice of a human, whom the hosts saw as gods. Instead, her voice came from herself, and now that voice has driven her to start a war against those very gods. In “Westworld,” science, art and storytelling all merge, creating one of the best explorations of artificial intelligence ever seen on TV.
'Westworld' Characters Ranked From Worst to Best (Photos)
From top to bottom, the cast of "Westworld" has never ceased to intrigue us with their secrets and schemes. We've ranked them from worst to best.
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17.) Logan -- A disgusting, amoral heel of a human being who just keeps finding new ways to increase his scumbag level with every new episode. He did it all to find the "real" William. Turns out that was a big mistake.
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16.) Sizemore -- Another loudmouth jerk getting cut down to size. Sizemore loves to abuse the worker drones under his charge, but rolls up like a tortilla when someone higher on the Westworld ladder shoots down his plans.
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15.) Stubbs -- Stubbs is mostly there to advance other characters' storylines, from Elsie's investigations to Bernard and Theresa's affair. But now that he's been taken by the Ghost Nation, maybe there's something more interesting in store for him. Or he could just be dead.
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14.) Theresa -- She thought she was a major player in game of Westworld. But she was nothing more than Ford's pawn.
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13.) Armistice -- She's a ruthless gunslinger with a sweet tattoo and incredible accuracy… but her status as a host made her an easy kill for oafish guests. Maeve brought an end to that, and in the finale, she truly became the vicious snake she had been programmed to be.
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12.) Hector -- He's mostly been around to provide the mandated HBO ultra-violence, but the moment he discovered Maeve's safe is empty was a powerful one, indeed.
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11.) Lawrence -- "Westworld" really knows how to swerve us hard. We grew to pity Lawrence because he was abused by The Man In Black. Then we were jolted when it was revealed how dangerous Lawrence could truly be as one of the most powerful black-hat hosts in the park.
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10.) Charlotte -- When one of your scenes involves discussing your villainous master plan immediately after a round of rough sex with an android, you don't need to be around all season to make a big impression.
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9.) Elsie -- Poor Elsie. Her resourcefulness and determination made her the most likable of the human park staff, but her paranoia seems to have led to her demise. Is she really dead, or are the visions we saw of Bernard killing her a trick from Ford?
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8.) Clementine -- While Elsie's fate remains foggy, Clementine's has played out with a terrible finality. A life of being attacked, objectified and manipulated ended with her taking a new position as a lobotomized puppet. Maybe she can be programmed into a better place?
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7.) Teddy -- He may be the Kenny McCormick of Westworld, but at least he dies with style. Teddy is a great deconstruction of the heroic cowboy archetype, constantly getting outsmarted while the damsel he tries to save takes matters into her own hands. But now he's discovered that the enemy he was programmed to hunt down is the woman he loved? So what will his ultimate role in Ford's new narrative be?
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6.) Ford -- Boy, is it great to have Anthony Hopkins back. Not since "Hannibal" has he had a role this delicious. He's a devious manipulator whose motives and abilities are slowly revealed and whose composure appears to be unshakeable. He's a god of Westworld, and acting.
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5.) William -- What a road William has taken. The mild-mannered, shy white hat has been humiliated one time too many by his brother-in-law. And it turns out that the big theory surrounding who he becomes was right all along.
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4.) The Man In Black -- Westworld's biggest mystery man has spent the whole season alternatively dishing out brutal killings and cryptic clues. For the fan-theory crowd, he's been an endless font of fun, as everyone has come up with their own idea of who he is and what secrets he's hiding.
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3.) Bernard -- Jeffrey Wright is brilliant, and more people know that now thanks to his quiet, emotional performance as the intelligent and thoughtful Bernard. He's so empathetic that the big reveal about his identity was still a gut punch, even for those who saw it coming.
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2.) Dolores -- "Westworld" is, at its heart, a story about Dolores. All of the show's themes about artificial intelligence, human morality, philosophy, etc. are tied together in her and brought to life by Evan Rachel Wood's magnificent soliloquies about how one perceives the world. That said...
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1.) Maeve -- Let's be real. Maeve is the real star of "Westworld." She gets lines that would make Peter Dinklage jealous. Park employees shake at the sight of her, and she faces danger with breathtaking courage. We can't wait to see what she does next in season 2.
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Our rankings, from the inhumane to the un-human
From top to bottom, the cast of "Westworld" has never ceased to intrigue us with their secrets and schemes. We've ranked them from worst to best.